Maryland Opera begins its second season with Verismo Opera – high drama, inflamed passion and frank carnality are the hallmarks of our selections from the great composers of the era. Join us for a glimpse of real life and love – Italian style!

Join Sopranos Colleen Daly and Amy Shoremount-Obra, Mezzos Grace Hebeisen and Katelyn Jackman, Tenors Dane Suarez and Peter Scott Drackley, and Baritones Stephen Gaertner and James Wright in highlights from the Verismo Opera stage. Works by Puccini, Leoncavallo, Cilea, Giordano, and Mascagni at the beautiful theatre of the Cambridge School.

November 22, 2019 at 7:30pm
November 24, 2019 at 4:00pm

Singing Macduff in Macbeth (Verdi): February 14, 16m, 22, 23m

This is West Bay Opera's third production ever of Verdi's Macbeth. The libretto follows the Shakespeare play closely. Though Verdi turned the three witches into an entire women's chorus, he still felt that the witches, as a whole are dramatically on a par with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. A major success upon its premiere in 1847, the opera was revised and translated into French in 1865 for Paris. Paradoxically, it is the revised version, sung in Italian, that has become more widely performed. Verdi was particularly proud of this score, his first opportunity to explore Shakespeare's work, which he greatly admired. After Nabucco's Abigaile, Lady Macbeth is the next big soprano role in the Verdian canon, an intrepid musical exploration of the Shakespearean archetype, a woman whose all-consuming ambition ends in tragedy and madness. Macbeth is a remarkable score, and in addition to the beautiful arias, it includes outstanding ensembles and lots of exciting choral and orchestral music.

Macbeth - Krassen Karagiozov
Lady Macbeth - Christina Major
Macduff - Dane Suarez
Banco - Ben Brady
Malcolm - Jackson Beaman

Conductor - José Luis Moscovich
Director - Ragnar Conde

Singing Don José in Carmen (Bizet): July 10, 12m

Festival Opera is proud to present a brand new fully-staged production of George Bizet’s CARMEN on July 10, 12 & 14, 2020 at the Lesher Center for the Arts.